Two charged particles are separated by a distance of 1.0 cm . Determine the minimum possible magnitude of the electric force acting on each charge.

Step-by-step solution

The electric force between two charges q₁ and q₂ separated by a distance r is given by Coulomb's law: F = 1 4 ₀ q₁ q₂ r^2 For the force to be minimum, the charges must have the minimum possible magnitude. The minimum possible charge on a particle is the elementary charge e = 1.6 10⁻¹⁹ C . Given the separation distance r = 1.0 cm = 10⁻² m , substituting the values into the formula: F = (9 10^9) (1.6 10⁻¹⁹)^2 (10⁻²)^2 F = 9 10^9 2.56 10⁻³⁸ 10⁻⁴ F = 23.04 10⁻²⁵ N F 2.3 10⁻²⁴ N